171 Republicans say net neutrality up to Congress

A slew of House Republicans say the net neutrality regulation debate is one …

Not to be outdone by those 73 Democrats who told the Federal Communications Commission this week not to go forward with its plan to reclassify ISPs as common carriers, over twice that number of Republicans have sent the agency a letter on Friday with the same message.

"We write to encourage you not to proceed down your announced path to reclassify broadband service as phone service under Title II of the Communications Act," they wrote. That sort of move "should be made by Congress."

The letter is signed by Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Cliff Sterns (R-FL), ranking member of that committee's subcommittee on the Internet. 169 more Republicans co-signed the missive.

The statement notes that in the past, the agency has defined broadband as an "information" rather than a "telecommunications" service, "outside the reach of the Title II common carrier rules." It adds that Section 230 of the Communications Act declares it the policy of the United States "to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation."

"Whether the country should stray from that legislative posture—which has produced 200 million broadband subscribers over the last ten years, is a matter best left to Congress," the letter concludes.

Whether a "legislative posture" produced all those broadband lines is another interesting question to ponder. In any event, now both Democratic and Republican foes of net neutrality rules insist that it is Capitol Hill's job to make this call, rather than the FCC's.

So be it, declared four top-ranking Congressional Democrats on Monday—they announced hearings to consider proposals to rewrite the Communications Act. Congress "will invite stakeholders to participate in a series of bipartisan, issue-focused meetings beginning in June," they promise.

Matthew Lasar / Matt writes for Ars Technica about media/technology history, intellectual property, the FCC, or the Internet in general. He teaches United States history and politics at the University of California at Santa Cruz.